The Price of Knowing
by ArashiGoddess
Summary: "I will protect you, for everyone's sake." Fast-forward into the future, Vincent and his wife had been killed in the fire with only one of his children surviving; Ciel Phantomhive. She may have failed to protect her brother, but she would kill to protect her nephew. Even if that means going against his own butler who started to hold interest in her old soul.


_It's… been a while, hasn't it? _

I thought to myself, as I watched the people around me in familiar dresses and suits dance the waltz. Even the song that was playing was familiar. The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss. It had just finished been finished in this age and yet hear it be played and enjoyed by all.

This particular party was arranged for the purpose of congratulating my older brother for graduating from Weston. Every single acquaintance of our family filled up the ballroom easily and being so deep in the night, I was glad no more would be coming in. Even so, there were some people who looked familiar wherever I looked. They were younger than I was used to seeing but I could always recognize them.

Because _I_ am Celestia Phantomhive in this world.

Though what were the odds that one of my lives would lead to me becoming one of the Phantomhives themselves? From what I could remember from seven lives before, they were just a manga I read in my free time with the lack of anything more amusing to do. I was thirteen years old, and oddly enough, I liked reading it. But really? God is going to do this to me now?

What could be worse than being apart of a family that did all the Queen's dirty work for her? Aside from knowing that I might end up dying earlier than I would've like, I see nothing but a grim future for myself. These truly were hard times to be born in.

"Celestia, come over here." Someone called out, and I turned from my perch beside the pillar to approach, only to nearly trip over the many layers of skirt I was wearing.

…petticoats. _Of course._

I, Celestia Phantomhive, currently four years old, and I already hate my petticoats.

After approaching the person who called for me, I gave a curtsy and said my greetings.

"Hello, sister."

Said sister of mine, Frances Phantomhive, future Marchioness of Midford, gave me a disapproving look. "Must you greet so lifelessly all the time."

"I can't help it. Parties bore me."

"You're _four,"_ she pointed out.

"Exactly my point." I made a show of looking around and inquired, "Are there no children my age?"

She looked to our right and there, from across the ballroom, was a boy _my age._ He was approaching ladies nearly two or so decades older than him and showering them with compliments. Even with a young face such as his, I knew who he was; _Aleistor Chamber._

I looked back at my older sister of thirteen years, unamused. I was not about to acquaint myself with such a person.

"Right. Maybe not the right suggestion then, dear little sister."

We settled into a comfortable silence then, content with just watching as the people around us make merry. They were happier to be in this party than our brother though, it seems. Vincent Phantomhive, my older brother of fifteen years, the subject of the party, was chatting with guests like he always does. Instead of being merry like others and dancing the night away, he instead chose to expand his circle of acquaintances. Beside him, was the ever present form of his German 'fag', Diederich.

He looked even more unhappy being at the party than I was.

Not far from where they are, stood two familiar sisters. One was Rachel Dalles, third and current betrothed of my brother. After the _unfortunate ways_ my brother's first and second betrotheds seemingly disappeared from the face of the Earth, she seemed to be too lucky to be even alive for as long as she had. It's been a year since it was announced that they were to be wed but it seems she isn't about to 'disappear' anytime soon.

Which was fortunate. I quite like her and the cookies she always brought me whenever she visits.

Beside her was her sister Angelina Dalles; who from what I remember is this world's version of Jack the Ripper, the famous prostitute killer who was never caught. As was always the case, she was stealing glances at my brother every two minutes, her face turning redder every time. Even when she had known her sister was to wed brother, Rachel only seems to encourage her on further. No one was stopping her from telling him what she felt after all. And if he happens to reciprocate those feelings of hers, Rachel wouldn't mind and would gladly sever their engagement.

The two of them are great sisters to one another.

Though it was… _sad_ in a way, knowing how they will end up in the future. One was to be burned alongside Vincent while the other was to be killed after her crimes were discovered. They were only happy now but…

I shook my head to rid myself of such thoughts and focused my attention elsewhere, most especially, that young man who was hiding behind a pillar from beside us and is openly staring in adoration towards our direction. He doesn't have that awful mustache on his face yet, but I could recognize him from anywhere. And besides, there was only one idiot out there who liked my sister like _this stalker_ does; Alexis Midford.

"Are you not about to notice him anytime soon, sister?" I asked, watching the blonde in slight disgust.

My sister mirrored my expression. Even without looking, and she was adamant to ignore the idiot's existence, she knew _exactly_ who I was talking about.

"If I pretend I don't notice, he'll soon go away."

"I don't think that it's working…"

Sure enough, having been ignored only fueled the other to approach to get her attention directly instead.

"Frances—"

And then, before the inevitable one-sided fight began, I started stepping backwards to escape. Now, as amusing it was to see a young man be beaten by the object of his affections, I was not about to see myself get caught in the crossfire anytime soon. As beautiful as Frances may be, she's a formidable foe. I cannot imagine h ow much pain I would be in if I happen to get a fist in my face.

Then, whether it was my luck or not, but I was suddenly lifted from the ground and into the hands of a familiar someone.

Namely Vincent.

He gave me one of his usual smiles as he stepped away from the fight that everyone was now watching with me in his arms. "Frances is so lively these days."

"I hate to see her when she's actually in a sour mood then." I deadpanned while he just chuckled.

"She does have quite the temper," he directed his smile back at me, oddly radiant-looking as he did so. "Is it not a good thing I swept you away, then?"

"Hn," was my mere answer.

He looked over his shoulder and called out, "Dee!"

Said 'Dee' came over begrudgingly, not too pleased to be ordered around. Even with their graduation, it seems that he'll still be my brother's fag (or lackey, for a more accurate term). He looked even more sour once he was in the vicinity.

"What?"

"Well, I figured Celestia here should retire for the night." I looked up at him, slightly surprised.

"I'm not tired," I had reasoned, and he tutted at me.

I got offended, of course. I was being treated like a child! I may have the body of a four year old girl but all in all, I was probably older than all of the attendees here combined. And believe me, we have a lot of guests.

He probably saw the look I had in my face as he looked so much more amused than before. "But you _are_ bored, are you not? And besides," he handed me over to Dee who was surprised at the sudden hand off. "A young lady like you needs her rest."

Vincent locked eyes with me and he tilted his head.

"_Especially,_ a four year old."

He looked gleeful as he walked away, his path suspiciously in the direction of the Dalles sisters. I watched him go, unamused, before I turned to Diederich who held a similar expression to mine.

"I cannot believe you lasted this long."

He made to refute but instead opted to release an irritated exhale of his breath. He turned around and exited the grand hall.

"You have no idea."

* * *

"Dee."

"_Ja?"_

"If my older brother was merely joking when he told you he wanted you to be his fag, would you have stayed with him like now?"

"_Hell no."_

The answer was instantaneous. Then again, this is Diederich that we are talking about. If anyone out there is tolerating my brother to the highest heaven, that would be him. I honestly would have been more surprised if he had answered any other way.

But I was not done with my questions.

"Then, what if my brother manages to get married and have a family before you?"

He snorted at that, as if he could not believe that Vincent was capable of something akin to 'family love'.

"As if. You know better than I do that he'll end up dying, shot to oblivion, because of him inheriting your father's work."

He looked like he wanted to laugh but was doing a good job holding it in.

It was fine though. I found it funny that Vincent did have a family in the future, seeing as from what I have known of him so far, he was an ambitious sort of person with every plan of his always being successful. He was that type of person who would rather bury himself with work, rather than care for something so trivial as family.

He barely even bats an eye towards our parents unless it was of utmost importance. No doubt, he only had his eyes set on our father's position as the Queen's Guard Dog; truly the highest of honour in the underworld.

It makes me wonder why he even bothers with me if mother and father merely wanted to marry me off in the future.

I leaned my head on Deiderich's shoulder before I whispered, "And you, how would you feel if he dies before you?"

At that, he stopped in his tracks and looked at me. He looked surprised when he made contact with my eyes before his face shifted into a neutral, almost dazed, look. I can see my own reflection in his eyes, my own ones lighter and brighter than normal.

"I…"

I kept my eyes locked with his and eventually, his hesitation to answer faded.

"…I would be upset. I don't want him to die."

He came back to his senses once I blinked and he gave me a look akin to confusion.

"What did you just…?"

It was now my turn to snort, ignoring his question in favour of my recent discovery. "You like my brother more than you let on."

He looked angry for a moment but nonetheless, he said nothing. He only muttered under his breath about something like 'stupid brat', 'like her idiotic brother', 'what a pain in the ass'.

All of which I promptly ignored, of course.

He then started walking once more and before long, I was asking a different question.

"What if I grew taller than you in the future?"

He groaned. "Do you have to ask questions?"

"No." He gave me an incredulous look, as if he hadn't believed me. And so I clarified, "But I am curious."

Deiderich rolled his eyes and decided not to answer.

"Won't it be interesting, though?" I peered up at him and he pointedly kept his gaze ahead of us. He excluded an aura like that of nervousment. It seems that he didn't want to catch my eyes again after the last stunt I pulled. Not that I was planning on doing it again. "You are taller than I, and even brother. But when old age comes up to you, and I reach a marriageable age, I have no doubt that I would be taller than you."

"And what makes you so sure?" He snaps at me, making me stare at him.

He got uncomfortable awfully fast and he looked away.

"That was rude, Dee," I told him.

And in turn, he muttered bitterly, "I know."

"But to answer your rude question, I just know."

He groaned again.

We settled in a comfortable silence then, and before we knew it, we stood before a set of double doors. Deiderich set me down on my feet and he opened the door for me. It was my room, the familiar wall of bookcases by the open balcony door greeting the two of us.

I shivered, as the wind lapped at my face and he hurriedly crossed the room with long strides to close the door.

"Do you not keep your balcony doors closed in here?" He asks, annoyed as he helped take off my outer dress and the many, many petticoats I wore.

"We do, but this room of mine often had weak locks so mere wind can push doors easily."

"And you never asked for a different room?"

I did take off my own shoes and stockings once the restrictive clothing was off. Then, I got settled in to bed with Deiderich tucking me in.

I shook my head no at his inquiry.

"It was never a problem. I slept through the cold multiple times."

He looked like he wanted to facepalm. I couldn't blame him. People often told me how troublesome my personality was. I was even surprised that I was quick to get used to everyone's exasperation.

I was only _four,_ after all.

He sat by my bedside. "What now? Bedtime story?"

I gave him a deadpan look. "I'm four, Dee."

"So? Four year olds like bedtime stories. You used to like bedtime stories."

"Maybe not _this _four year old."

He let out something like a low chuckle before his hand dropped heavily on my head to ruffle my hair. In doing so, he managed to undo the bun it was in and long dark blue locks fell over my shoulder like rivers.

I stared at him as he did so, even after he was done, thinking to myself.

Right. I forgot that throughout the last year, Deiderich had come and go to the Phantomhive house a lot. He spends time with me, whether willingly or not and because of that, I came to look up to him as another older brother.

_A grumpy and vulgar brother._

But he's family now… is he not?

He released a breath as he stood up and went to leave the room. "I'm not about to wait patiently for you to fall asleep. So I'm heading back to the party."

"Un. Good night, Dee."

"Good night."

And then, the door was closed.

As soon as I could no longer hear his footsteps, I settled down to lay on my bed and closed my eyes. I wasn't tired, but being surrounded by darkness and peace, I wouldn't doubt my ability to fall asleep.

And so I waited.

After a few minutes, I heard the balcony door open once more. But it didn't make a loud slam as it connected with the walls. Instead, it was quiet, and slow; _deliberate._

_I was going to get kidnapped, wasn't I?_

Just as I had thought of that, a hand covered my face to ensure that I wouldn't scream. Yet, I didn't do such a thing, even when my eyes were covered by a blindfold and I was hoisted off to somewhere.

I had went with them willingly. I didn't even struggle.

I could only guess how confused my captors were at how I wasn't making a fuss.

Then the unexpected happened during my transport.

_I fell asleep._

* * *

When I came to, it was to the sound of gunfire.

It was raining bullets from somewhere outside and the groans of men who were shot were coming ever so closely. I could even hear repeated slams from the doors that were forcefully kicked open every now and then. It seems that I was about to get rescued.

Though, before I could think more about it, the door to where I was at was kicked open and I heard someone heave a sigh of relief. The brief moment of peace was destroyed when one of my kidnappers ran up to my rescuers with a battle cry, before a lone gun shot rang in the air.

I flinched at the loud sound. I haven't been expecting it, especially when I heard the man's body hit the floor.

He was dead, I think.

I didn't even realize that my breathing was coming out in short breaths.

I was afraid.

I knew that I was being rescued but what if that wasn't the case? What if this was an enemy as well who wanted to take me for themselves? What if Cedric Phantomhive want nothing to do with me anymore and decided his work was more important than his daughter?

_All these thoughts of anxiety._

You think that having lived all the lives that I did, I would have been used to this.

But when the fear comes, _the fear is true._

There was silence, faint sounds of gunshots ringing out but the most ominous of them all was the slow footsteps that were coming near me. It stopped in front of me before my blindfold was taken off by this person.

I didn't know who to expect… but it was certainly not _Vincent._

He smiled at me, a gesture that looked sinister having been partially covered with blood. But when he readily met my eyes, I saw the worry in them, and how he had been stressing over my rescue, how angry he was at Deiderich yet he didn't let it show.

_This is… the true Vincent, isn't it?_

"Celestia, I'm here now."

I exhaled a slow breath and allowed him to release me from my binds. Then, he enveloped me in a brief hug before he carried me in his arm. In his other gloved hand, he held his pistol. I tightened my hold around his neck when we exited to the hallway.

There were bodies littering the floor.

"What happened?" I whispered, and he answered in an unconcerned way.

"We're here to save you."

"We?"

My question was answered when three rooms down the hall, a door was forcefully kicked and out came the familiar figure of Deiderich. From his other side, men came out from the darkness and charged at him, and he swung the pipe he was holding at them. The moment the powerful swing made contact with their heads, cracks followed.

I had doubt they would still be alive after that. Not without extensive damage being done to their brains.

"Dee!" I called out and he immediately hurried towards me when he saw me.

"Celestia!"

Unlike Vincent, his worry was prominently etched in his harsh features. He looked absolutely relieved at the sight of me as I reached out to him. When Vincent handed me over, he took me in his arms to envelop me in a hug; which I was more than happy to reciprocate.

"You're alright," he told me, and I shook my head at him.

"I should've accepted that bedtime story."

"…right."

Vincent watched us for a moment, before raising his gun towards us. Deiderich saw him do so and his eyes widened.

Then, a shot rang out.

_BANG!_

…

..

.

My ears were ringing, and I had closed my eyes out of instinct. When I opened them, I saw the body of a man slowly hit the floor behind the young man holding me. I watched as blood pooled around his head and unto the floor, mixing with the other blood that was already there.

"_Mole, what the hell!"_

I flinched away from Deiderich's familiar enraged voice, rubbing my ears slightly as I haven't even recovered from the gunshot. He pointed an accusing finger towards my brother who emptied his gun's chamber and made to load them again.

"Hm?" he hummed, smiling.

"Why did you shoot so near us!?"

"Whatever do you mean, Dee?" He told him playfully, succeeding in making the other even angrier.

"You could've shot me _or_ Celestia, you asshole!"

"I wouldn't dare hit either of you, though."

Vincent did not look concerned as he flicked his wrist to put the chamber of the pistol back in its place. He had that same smile on his face, like it was any other day. He opened his eyes to look at us, but was careful not to meet my gaze.

It was as if the real him that I saw was but a mere illusion.

Had I been wrong in what I had seen?

I frowned as he started giving instructions to Deiderich, ignoring the still fuming German who had been busy cussing him out in his native tongue.

"Take Celestia outside. I will meet you there and come back to the Manor with you."

He raised both his brow at him at the order. "Huh!? And what about you?"

He raised his gun and turned around. Then he looked over his shoulder at us, his smile unwavering.

"_I have some trash to dispose of."_

He then walked away from us. From the atmosphere around him, we both knew he was ready to kill. Not wanting to get in his way, Deiderich followed his orders and made his way outside with me.

While he carried me, he tried his best not to make his hits too fatal. It was his way of trying to protect me. To him, I had seen a lot of dead bodies already. There was no need to traumatize me further.

Except he hadn't known how many corpses I've seen throughout all my lives. But being in a body so young, the disgust I was usually able to handle felt overwhelming now.

Deiderich must've noticed my expression.

"Hey, _hey!_ Don't you dare vomit on me!"

"…I'm not." I muttered, but my rising bile was betraying me and I stopped myself in time to avoid hurling. He looked even more nervous.

"I'm not fucking kidding! I'll leave you behind!"

"Urk…"

"_Celestia! Goddammit!"_

In the end, he plowed his way through the remaining men in our way, holding me as far away as possible from him. Which was a good choice on his part, as the moment we got outside, I immediately jumped away from him and emptied my stomach.

The grass was a wonderful colour of [**censored**] once I was done with it.

It wasn't pretty.

Deiderich came up behind me and he groaned at the disgusting masterpiece.

"You almost decorated me with that," he told me accusingly and I snorted, wiping the remaining bile on my lips.

"It's a good thing you run fast while motivated."

"Don't you dare be a smartass with me, _Gör."_

There it was; his nickname for me. It was rude being called a brat but having been called by it by him for many a times now, it had become something close to an endearment. I don't get irritated hearing it anymore.

"Woof." I taunted at him, my voice flat and emotionless. Though apparently, my own way of giving him a term of endearment was less than appreciated.

He looked like he was about to pop a vessel.

"_Now, listen here, you—!"_

Before he could finish, there was a loud explosion that came from the house we evacuated. It rocked the ground with how big it was, and small ones soon followed. Deiderich grabbed me out of the way, just in time for another explosion to happen near where we were.

We watched with wide eyes as the house was enveloped in flames.

_But Vincent had been inside there, hadn't he?_

"Brother…" I whispered, shocked.

The young man beside me realized the same thing and he stood up. He intend to go in and save my brother, like how he said he didn't want him to die. Though it seems he didn't need to. He stopped in his tracks because there, right in the middle of the flames, _was Vincent._

"Phantomhive!" Deiderich yelled in surprise, though he hadn't heard him.

He walked through, arranging his tie with his coat hanging off his shoulder. He was bloodied, more so than when I saw him earlier. But I knew none of those were his.

After walking quite a ways away, he stopped and turned to look back at the building.

Seeing him then, he seemed… _different _almost. His smile that he usually wore, whether in face of irritation or amusement, was _gone._ He looked grave as he looked over what he had caused.

It felt like something changed in him at that moment.

I moved away from Deiderich and approached Vincent. He had protested when I did but I paid him no mind. I continued walking barefoot in the grass until I was beside my brother and tentatively took his hand in both of mine.

"Celestia…" He looked surprised to see me. But that brief expression of humanity disappeared when he gave me a hollow smile. It was unlike those he usually wore.

He knelt down so that our heights matched and I was level with his eyes. Like earlier, he met my eyes head on and I saw the horrible, horrible thoughts that ran in his mind as he killed all those people.

All I could akin him to was a _monster._

And it must've shown in my face as his eyes turned a slight bit lonely. He whispered,

"_Are you afraid?"_

It was simple as that, yet I didn't know what to say. All I could do was stare at him, and watch as his eyes slowly turned more hollow the longer I stay quiet.

And with nothing else to do, I opened my arms and wrapped him in a hug.

I felt him stiffen, surprised that I had done it. I would be too, knowing that not once had I initiated hugs with him or others for that matter. But tonight was a special case.

Tonight was the night Vincent realized how he was the same as father, even when he previously stated that he refuses to be one and that he would things differently. He had blood on his hands now, and I doubt he would ever forget tonight's happenings.

And then, I was reminded of his death in the near future. Like the house in front of us, he too would be engulfed in flames and die alongside his wife, Rachel.

Just like how the event that started it all, he too shall end the same way.

So for his future,

His wife's,

His children's,

Deiderich's,

Mine…

_I promise, I would save you from all of this, Vincent. You deserve a life of happiness, not one with blood shed._

As if he had heard my silent promise to myself, he slowly reciprocated the hug. His hold was tight, and desperate… almost afraid.

All I could do for now was hug him.

The way back was silent.

I was handed off to Deiderich and he had me ride in front on the horse. A little ways in front was Vincent, who stayed said nothing as he rode on his own steed.

His German fag took the liberty to fill me in on what had happened.

When one of the maids had entered my room to make sure the balcony door was closed while I slept, she saw that I wasn't in bed anymore. The books were untouched so it was unlikely I was reading in a corner. But the main sign that pointed to my kidnapping was the balcony which were messy with muddy footprints.

It didn't belong to me, nor anyone from our Manor would have the indecency to make a mess, and so she panicked.

The first person she ran into was my brother, who was on his way to retire for the night when he was informed of what happened. She was ordered not to tell anyone and that he would handle it. After that, he came back to the party to drag Deiderich away.

Once they were out of sight, he received a punch in his face.

"_What the hell!"_

"_Celestia has been kidnapped."_

"…_what?"_

"_We're going after her. __**Now."**_

His smile was unnerving that time. He was angry, yet he only showed it through the punch he had given his fag. Aside from that, his demeanor was the same as usual.

They took horses from the table and immediately made haste. My brother had an idea who took me. It was the Holton Family, whose Baron Holton was supposed to wed Rachel Dalles. The man had held a grudge on Vincent after he had set up an intervention for their illegal wine trade from the order of our father, Cedric.

Added was the fact that my brother even took Rachel as his betrothed, the Holtons became an enemy of Phantomhives.

They were invited by the Crawfords to the party that night and my brother only saw them once. He knew that they were up to something but he hadn't realized that I would be dragged in it.

When they had reached the Holton house, the guards who were guarding the area immediately attacked them. And so they retaliated until they found me on third floor.

I patted his arm when he finished, and silently told him,

"Good job."

He snorted, kicking his horse to make it go faster. He told me in response, "Not even a thank you."

"You left me alone."

"Yes, which I'm still sorry for."

I gave him an unamused look, seeing as how I didn't even receive a proper sorry from him. Yet he wants a proper thank you from me?

I squinted at him, and he nervously kept his gaze at front.

"I want a chocolate tart with strawberry decorations, French macarons with different colours and associated flavours, a Christmas cake that says woof in your own handwriting—"

"What makes you think I'll make all of those for you!?"

I ignored him and kept listing off the things I want.

"—a steak, cooked medium rare, croquettes, a strawberry vanilla milkshake—"

"Hey_, hey!_ What's with all of these sweets!?"

At his complaint, I decided to stop listing off sweets in favour of food I liked from the modern twenty-first century.

"—a seafood platter caught from Sweden's east coast, a classic pizza from Italy, unlimited chicken wings with a sour cream, a burrito, a taco, a—"

"Hold the _fuck_ up!"

"Dee, language."

Vincent had warned who we had now caught up to. It was the first thing he said at that time. Deiderich looked surprised, meanwhile, I mirrored my brother.

"Yeah, Dee, careful. I am four."

His eye twitched in annoyance. _"Gör,_ you started this."

"And I intend to see it through," I promised him.

We stared at each other for a long while, challenging the other to back out but I was more stubborn than him. So in the end, I had won.

"…where do I even find this… _taco."_

"Mexico."

He looked like he wanted to facepalm. Instead, he took me by the waist and tossed me like a sack towards Vincent. He caught me effortlessly and proceeded to give Deiderich a look.

Which was promptly ignored.

"Take care of your own damn sister," was the only thing he told him before he left us in the dust.

We watched him leave with mirroring expression of unamusement from our trotting horse. Then, we silently made our way back in a more comfortable silence than before.

* * *

Because of that incident, my brother had arranged for me to have a different bedroom; preferably one that didn't have a balcony door that opened at a slight breeze, or a balcony for that matter.

Just like how Vincent had arranged it, father and mother hadn't known about what had happened to me. Not even Frances was privy to that information. It was only Deiderich, Vincent, the maid, and I knew.

Because of the incident as well, news of the Holton Family being attacked and destroyed in one night spread quickly throughout England, as well.

And I watched in the sidelines as my brother's smile turned a slightly bit sinister as he read the news in the paper.

* * *

A/N: _So, new story again! It's the third story I've published in the last two months ehehe;; I can't help it though. I'm super obsessed with Black Butler again that I thought of writing three stories consecutively. I love it to bits right now and I feel like it's going to be ending soon which just makes me sad waaah! :((_

_Anyways, I hope you like this one about Vincent Phantomhive's youngest sister! She's going to be the more secretive of all three of my Back Butler OCs and I enjoyed writing her prologue hahaha!_

_Let me know what you think about it!_


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